Z.R. Stein
Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.
I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.
This is a very, very info heavy chapter, please forgive me for this lore bomb.
Last update for a little while. I worked hard to get this one out before I go on vacation, so please, enjoy.
You'll have to decide for yourself. Walk on your own. Move forward. You've got a strong pair of legs, Rose. You should get up and use them. -Edward Elric
. . .
The group reached Vale within the hour. They would have arrived much sooner if Apparition had been utilized, but Lily and her companions had agreed (through various silent facial expressions) that they would be better off simply observing this Qrow.
So far, both sides had been rather tight lipped about their intentions, origins, and the like. Lily and co. now knew that the city of Vale was one of four major cities in the world of Remnant (or country or region; they hadn't asked directly so they weren't certain which it was), though the only other city Qrow had mentioned was Vacuo. They knew that the monsters that they had been fighting were called Grimm (the name was exceptionally foreboding, and all three wizards shivered at the comparisons they drew to the legendary black dog of death). Qrow had also told them a bit about the man they were going to meet, the mysterious Ozpin. Lily couldn't help but draw parallels between him and Dumbledore; a powerful older man, revered by most of the populace, and who was known for his great wisdom. That he was a Headmaster at 'Beacon' (most likely a school of higher education of some kind) was simply icing on the unappetizing cake. Still, she would withhold ultimate judgement until she met the man.
Qrow, on the other hand, had learned even less about the threesome. The girl's name was Lily, while the mangy man went by Sirius and the gangly gaunt one was Remus. They hadn't told him where they were from, but seeing as they didn't know what Vale was called and they hadn't reacted to him mentioning Vacuo, the odds that they hailed from one of the four kingdoms was low. Qrow was placing his money on them being from some village outside of the kingdoms. It explained almost everything about them and their various oddities: the strange language they had spoken when they first encountered him, the fortitude that spoke of experience without proper huntsman training, and the lack of knowledge about the outside world in general. Still, to not know what Grimm were called...there was something fishy going on here. Qrow hoped that Ozpin would be able to wheedle more information out of them, because right now, he knew next to nothing about the traveling trio.
As they reached the perimeter defenses of Vale, the Hogwarts alumni had to stop themselves from staring. Massive towers dotted the landscape, arranged in a line that separated the wilderness from the city, one that looked to be every bit as large as London. Gun turrets bristling from the top and sides of the towers, swivelling around on well maintained mountings. A wall of stone and steel that was at least ten meters tall connected the towers, barbed wire strung along the top and bottom. It was a rather intimidating sight.
Sirius whistled lowly and said "Well, guess that explains why you lot haven't been overrun by the Grimm."
Qrow huffed in amusement, saying "The walls really aren't that important. Most of the Kingdom's defenses are passive in nature, like the mountains to the East. Geography does more for Vale than a hundred thousand Huntsmen or Huntresses could."
Sirius nodded, a look of concern finding its way onto his face. Lily felt the emotion as well; it sounded as if the situation was even more dire than any of them had imagined if the only settlements could exist in certain areas.
Qrow conferred with the soldiers at the mouth of the gate, the two men waving them through with some sort of ultra high tech Muggle rifle. Lily had never seen anything like them outside of a movie, and for an absurd second, she wondered if they had somehow ended up in the future. The moon did resemble the moon of Earth, though it was broken. The presence of humans (she assumed Qrow was human, though his crimson eyes perhaps indicated otherwise) also supported this idea. However, two things stopped that train of thought: one, there was a infinitesimal percent chance the jumpkey would work like that, seeing as it moved the holder through space, not time. And two, none of her Point-Me spells had worked, even the one that she had attempted to use to point her in the direction of the British Isles. Even if it was the future, she doubted that anything could entirely destroy the islands where she had been born and raised, and if something had...she shuddered to think of whatever might have been powerful enough to accomplish that. Idly, she noted that they had entered some sort of agricultural area, with plenty of farms and gardens in sight. Qrow hailed down a flying vehicle, of all things (Lily vaguely recalled that they were called Veetoles or something) and gestured for them to board.
The sun had just started to peek over the horizon as the foursome flew into the city proper. While Lily was caught up in her ruminations on whether or not they had travelled through time, Sirius and Remus were taking their time to observe the city of Vale. It was a magnificent place, of that, there was no doubt. Though clearly Muggle in design, Sirius and Remus spotted many structures that one would never find in London. A monorail rain through the city, speeding along at a rate that made the Hogwarts Express look like a geriatric turtle. Though Muggle automobiles were present, they drove on a massive highway system that was bordered by some kind of flickering blue barrier.
Sirius turned to their guide and asked "Just how large is Vale?"
Qrow pursed his lips, thinking. He responded after a moment "Last I checked there were about four million people living in the city. Most of them are in the residential districts, though a fair number do live in the agricultural, industrial, and commercial areas. Vale itself is around a thousand square kilometers. Must be a big change from wherever you came from."
Sirius nodded, a little overwhelmed by the large number. Considering there hadn't even been two million wizards in the entire world when they left Britain, it spoke volumes of just how large the city was. Then again, if Vale was one of only four cities in this strange new world, and the other three had similar populations, that meant that the entire population of this world was less than one percent as large as that of Earth.
The transport ship landed not long afterwards, the foursome debarking onto a landing platform. As both of his companions were occupied by their individual dark thoughts, Remus was the only one to look up at the sight in front of him.
"Woah…"
A part of Remus couldn't help but compare the building in front of him to Hogwarts Castle. Both were magnificent, awe inspiring structures, edifices of learning that had hosted many students over the years. However, that was where the similarities ended. Hogwarts had always exuded age to Remus, it's cracked stone foundations worn by the passage of a millennia. It was a location of tradition and ancient knowledge, mired in a long and glorious (though some would disagree on the 'glorious' part) past. Beacon, on the other hand, seemed to emit a sense of newness, the buildings tall and straight with few signs of wear and tear. Swooping stone arches were mixed in with modern metal construction, towering glass windows stood right next to holographic projectors. More than that though, Remus thought, the Academy was much more militaristic than Hogwarts had ever been. He spotted a number of gun turrets hiding away in corners and adorning the tops of the arches, their gleaming barrels glinting in the early morning sun. Numerous people in uniform were just beginning to start their day, milling around on whatever personal business they had to attend and—did that woman have a fox tail?
Remus' train of thought was brought to a screeching halt as his eyes fixed on a woman with a Merlin-be-damned fox tail walked past, the furry protrusion wagging back and forth. On top of his head, he felt his other set of ears twitch as if in response to seeing a person who, for some reason, had animal traits like he did (though he'd never heard of a werefox before. Just another question to ask about this strange place they'd found themselves in).
Qrow, ignorant of the thoughts of the three he was escorting, started talking.
"Welcome to Beacon. Oz'll be in his tower, he's usually awake by this time. If he isn't,we can just wait a little while. I should warn you though, the man's a little ornery when he hasn't had his coffee yet. Let's hope we catch him after he drinks a cup or five."
. . .
Headmaster Ozpin sat in his office, nursing on his second coffee of the day. Glynda, bless her heart, had been kind enough to preemptively brew some for him before he awoke. He mentally wrote himself a note to buy her something extra nice for her birthday this year.
On his desk, a notification popped up, signalling that someone wanted to gain access to his office. Upon closer inspection, the ID revealed itself to be that of none other than Qrow Branwen, formerly of Team STRQ. Ozpin smiled to himself as he approved the request. He'd been considering inducting Qrow into the Brotherhood for awhile now; he needed someone to fill the vacancy left by Topaz Tollman, who had been put permanently out of commision from a King Taijitu bite. Qrow would make an excellent replacement for old Toto; the young man had proven himself to be quite capable in the field, even if he did had an abrasive personality. Still, needs must as needs must; Ozpin had faith that the young man could go far in defense of the maidens with the right push. If that didn't work out, the lad was still a fine warrior, and would serve his kingdom well in whatever capacity he chose. He would never come between a Huntsman and their choices. Too much control only led down dark roads, ones which Ozpin had long stopped travelling down.
The doors opened soon after, and four people strolled into his office, three of whom Ozpin did not know. One was a woman with striking red hair, one was a young man with shoulder length hair that badly needed a wash, and one was a gaunt-faced wolf Faunus who had numerous scars covering his face. A rather odd trio, but Ozpin had seen much stranger over the years.
"Please, come in. Have a seat."
The three strangers looked around the room, confused, before the human male piped up.
"Where? There aren't any chairs in here…"
The man's sentence trailed off as four ornate metal chairs suddenly materialized in the middle of the room. All of them appeared taken aback, something which Qrow caught onto as well.
"That's just part of Oz's Semblance. Don't worry, caught me off guard the first time I saw it too."
The man who had spoken early flicked his eyes between Ozpin and the chairs, his body tensing. The woman stamped on the man's foot and jerked her head. Ozpin caught a subtle nod of the head, before the Faunus joined in on the silent conversation. A small smile broke its way onto Ozpin's face and he said "While I don't want to intrude on your non-verbal conversation, I can't help but wonder if it is my...ahem, Semblance which is causing your dilemma. If it helps, I am more than willing to answer...most any questions you may have regarding it."
The woman, who seemed to have been elected the unofficial spokesperson for the group, stepped forwards and began speaking, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Right. I suppose we should introduce ourselves first. My name is Lily Potter. This is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. And we're wizards."
. . .
From the moment that Lily entered the office, she'd been on edge. Too much about this situation reeked of similarity to Dumbledore. The eccentric office, the exclusive access, even the man himself. She couldn't help but draw parallels from the moment she walked through the door.
After a few seconds following that train of thought, she reeled it in, ordering herself to give him a chance. To be honest, now that she looked at the man closer, he didn't bear much resemblance to Dumbledore at all. He had a certain ageless quality to him that Dumbledore lacked. His face was unlined, though his hair was a uniform, natural silver (if she were back on Earth, she would have wondered if he was a Metamorphmagus). Overall, he didn't seem to be that much older than herself. There was something about his eyes though...while Dumbledore always had that maddening, grandfatherly twinkle in his eyes, Ozpin had a much more serious countenance; he seemed to exude experience and serenity, in a manner that Dumbledore only matched when the old man dropped his senile act.
Perhaps she'd been too quick to judge him. Lily decided to give him one chance to prove himself. If he was dishonest like Dumbledore was (she still seethed at the thought of how the old goat had tricked and lied to her), Ozpin was going to find himself at the mercy of a fully fledged witch.
"Please, come in. Have a seat."
Lily, Remus and Sirius glanced around the room, confused. Sirius asked "Where? There aren't any chairs in here…"
Lily's eyes widened as four chairs suddenly appeared out of thin air. There was no way that that wasn't magic; what's more, she hadn't seen Ozpin move. Even if his wand was in that cane of his, that was still an extremely impressive bit of spellwork.
Qrow misinterpreted their sudden shift in attitude and said "That's just Oz's Semblance. Don't worry, caught me off guard the first time I saw it too."
Lily filed away the word Semblance for another time. Sirius looked like he about ready to do something stupid; she stamped on his foot to draw his attention, shaking her head. If this man was powerful enough to conjure furniture without wand movements or incantations, he was a force to be reckoned with; given that they were in the heart of his domain, it would be wise to be cautious.
Sirius nodded back, and Remus shot the both of them an anxious glance.
Ozpin interrupted their silent pow-wow, saying "While I don't want to intrude on your non-verbal conversation, I can't help but wonder if it is my...ahem, Semblance which is causing your dilemma. If it helps, I am more than willing to answer...most any questions you may have regarding it."
Lily turned her attention back to the man. This could turn out either really good or really, really bad. She didn't feel confident enough in her knowledge of this strange word to lie convincingly, so the truth it was. Besides, if she wanted the man to be honest with her, she had to be honest with him first.
Lily stepped forwards, took a breath and said "Right. I suppose we should introduce ourselves first. My name is Lily Potter. This is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. And we're wizards."
The silence that met that statement only lasted a second before she heard laughter coming from Qrow, who was leaning against the wall rather than taking one of the chairs.
"Wizards? Seriously? Don't tell me you're from some backwards podunk place in the sticks that still thinks Semblances are 'magical powers'."
Lily flushed at the man's words, resisting the urge to palm her wand and show him what she meant by magic with a choice hex or two. With no small amount of effort, she turned her attention away from Qrow and back towards Ozpin.
Ozpin, who was examining her with narrowed amber eyes. Lily could feel her skin prickle slightly as a wave of power rushed over her. The sensation vanished after a split second, but it left Lily wondering what it was.
Ozpin raised a single eyebrow and pressed a few buttons on his desk.
"Glynda, can you come up here for a moment?"
His piece said, Ozpin resumed his study of his visitors. Qrow snorted and asked "Are you seriously believing them, Oz? They have to be crazy, you know magic ain't real."
Ozpin remained silent, staying that way until the lift door slid open to admit a striking middle aged woman with eyes as green as Lily's own. The woman glanced haughtily around the room, eyes falling first on Sirius, who had his gaze fixed firmly on the woman's ample chest. Jaw tightening, the woman then examined Remus and Lily, before finally turning to Ozpin.
"You called?"
"It seems these three are wizards."
Glynda's eyes widened, and she gave them a much less imperious once over.
"You're sure?"
"Without a doubt."
Qrow looked between the two, suddenly realizing that whatever was going on was not a joke.
"Wha? Seriously?"
Ozpin sighed and set down his coffee cup.
"I had hoped to delay this conversation with you, Qrow, but it seems as if I have no other choice. Will you hold your questions until I've answered those of our guests? I might invariably answer some of them them along the way."
Qrow hesitantly nodded his head, and Ozpin turned his attention back to the trio of wizards.
"Go right ahead. Anything you might wish to ask, I will endeavor to answer as truthfully as I can."
Lily nodded, biting her lip. She wasn't entirely certain what was going on between the Headmaster and his two subordinates, but she wasn't going to pass up on an offer of honesty like this.
"Are you a wizard?"
"I am."
"Are there others?"
Ozpin paused and cocked his head before saying "There are others who use magic as I do, yes. However, I am afraid that their identities must remain secret, for now."
"Why?"
Again Ozpin paused, a small frown appearing on his lips.
"Their safety depends on their anonymity. Knowledge of magic is not widespread in the Kingdoms of Remnant."
Lily frowned as well and opened her mouth to ask another question, but Sirius beat her to the punch.
"Then why did you conjure a chair in front of a Muggle? And what the hell is a 'Semblance'?"
"Muggle?" Ozpin asked.
"People who can't use magic."
Ozpin's lip curled up at that, amusement plain on his face.
"Ah. Perhaps a lesson is in order. Forgive me if I am wrong, but you three don't strike me as being very knowledgeable about certain aspects of society that we simply take for granted."
Lily grimaced and nodded, chagrined that he had caught onto them so quickly.
"Remnant is...an interesting place, as you are no doubt aware. Grimm are a constant threat, forcing most humans to live in one of the four cities by necessity. While some choose to live outside the protection of the cities, those settlements never last long. What's more, the Grimm have existed since the dawn of recorded history in Remnant. You can imagine how difficult it must have been back in the day for humanity to defend itself."
Lily internally agreed. If humans were confined to four cities now, it spoke volumes of how much of a threat the Grimm were. Taking away the advantage of all of the advanced technology that she had seen in Vale seemed like it would utterly destroy humanity's chances of survival.
"However, early mankind survived the Grimm for four reasons, two of which are public knowledge. The first was the discovery of a native, crystallized energy source that is known as Dust. Think of Dust as a tiny piece of nature's wrath given shape. An expression of pure magic with a physical form."
Lily's breath caught in her throat at that, imagining all the things she could use this 'Dust' for. It was commonly accepted to be impossible to create magic in a pure state; thousands had tried over the millennia to achieve such a thing and none had actually succeeded, as far as she knew.
"The second was the discovery of Aura manipulation. Semblances are inherently linked to Aura."
Remus leaned forward and asked "Aura?"
"The manifestation of the soul. Aura is an internal energy source that is fueled by a person's will, thoughts, and memories, everything that makes them who they are. Semblances are directly linked to Aura; think of it as a certain power a person will develop that is intrinsically tied to the quality of their metaphysical self."
"Eh?" Sirius squinted his eyes, struggling his way through the conversation. Lily snapped her fingers after a moment, her mind in full analyst mode.
"I think I get it. Say you are a very shy person, your Semblance might be something like the ability to turn invisible...right?"
Ozpin smiled and said "Precisely. I've known a few individuals that had a Semblance like that. Though it is also true that no two Semblances are completely alike; each person's power comes from their soul, after all, and every person is different."
Sirius and Remus were struggling to process what Ozpin had revealed to them, and Lily wasn't very far behind. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she asked "The third?"
"The third reason humanity survived was magic."
The entire attention of the room turned to Ozpin.
"I'm not entirely sure where the three of you come from, we can speak on that matter another time, but from your attitude, I can assume that magic users were rather uncommon there."
Three nods answered Ozpin's question.
"It is much the same here. Those who truly have the gift are few and far between. Even when a magic user exists, their power is often mistaken as being some form of unique Semblance. Hence why Qrow was unaware of my disposition as a wizard."
Sirius murmured under his breathe "No wonder. If people are walking around turning invisible on a daily, accidental magic isn't going to spark that much notice."
Ozpin heard his muttering and ignored it, continuing on speaking.
"Early magic users were an enormous boon to the various societies they found themselves in, simply because they could accomplish tasks that could not easily be done with Semblances or Dust. Wards, in particular, were of great help to mankind, though the Grimm developed a hefty resistance to them over time. However, as time went on, the wizards and witches of Remnant, never numerous in number, began dying out. Even I am not entirely sure why...though I do have my suspicions. In any case, the population of magic users fell until the point it is at today; fewer than a dozen trained magic users still exist in Remnant, of which I am one. I know not how many untrained wizards and witches exist out in the world, but I can't imagine there'd be more than a thousand."
Lily felt shocked to her core. Less than a thousand in the entire world? Such a number was unbelievable. What could have caused such a drastic decrease in the number of wizards and witches?
"The fourth reason?"
Ozpin coughed and said "I am afraid I must keep that one under wraps for now. My apologies, but that particular tale will have to wait for another time."
Lily frowned but decided not to push. Ozpin had been remarkably forthcoming thus far, she could allow him one secret.
Remus was the next to ask a question, leaning forward with a thoughtful expression.
"Is magic related to Aura in a similar way to Semblances? Can the two be combined? Where we came from...the study of the origin of magic was always inconclusive, but it was commonly known that a person's magic was linked to their soul."
Ozpin sipped at his coffee, smiling over the top of his cup and said "An excellent question, Mister Lupin. One which I do not know the whole answer to. A person's magic is linked to their soul, and therefore, their Aura, but to my knowledge no one has ever succeeded at joining magic and a Semblance. For all intents and purposes, they are two mutually exclusive sources of power; one cannot be used to enhance the other. I am just an old man, however, and I do not know everything."
Sirius snorted and asked "Ah, another question...what do you mean by old? You can't be much more than thirty."
Ozpin's eyebrows rose and he said "Are you implying something, young man? In any case, things are not always as they appear to be. As to precisely why I do not look my age… that would also be a tale for another time."
Sirius rolled his eyes while Lily sighed. Ozpin shared a fair amount of personality quirks with Dumbledore, she had to admit, but overall he seemed much more straightforwards. He had answered most of their questions so far, and the ones that he didn't answer he at least gave them the courtesy of letting them know that he was deliberately keeping a secret.
Remus leaned forwards and pointed at his second set of ears before asking "One last question from me. Why do I have these?"
Ozpin blinked, glancing quickly up at the furry body parts.
"You mean you don't...you didn't have them before?"
Remus looked pained and said "No. I was...I was a werewolf before. Every full moon, I would transform into a rabid, senseless beast. It's a magical disease from our homeland."
Ozpin's eyes narrowed, observing Remus for a long moment. Lily saw the man stiffen, and wondered if he'd felt the wash of power this time. After the occurrence, Ozpin leaned back in his chair, eyes thoughtful.
"Whatever you were before, you are now a Faunus."
"Faunus?"
"A species native to Remnant. Humanoid in appearance, they are virtually identical to humans in every way, save for a few. All Faunus possess certain animal traits; ears, tails, eyes, some even have wings or horns. Their senses are generally sharper than humans; their night vision in particular is famous, as one of my professors is fond of reminding his students. They are really no different than humans...but as I'm sure you're aware, humanity isn't always welcoming of 'different'. The Faunus have suffered quite heavily for hundreds of years, and numerous wars have been fought along species lines. In fact, the latest Faunus War took place not more than twenty years ago."
Remus looked ill at the thought, and Lily couldn't blame him. While he may no longer transform into a beast, he had traded one downtrodden existence for another. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, trying to comfort him. Remus offered her a weak smile in return.
Lily turned back to Ozpin and said "I have one last question; what was that, that surge of power?"
Ozpin tilted his head and said "Ah, I was wondering if you felt that. That was Aura sense; I simply perused your Aura to first ascertain if you did indeed have a magical core, then to check if Mister Lupin was a human or Faunus. It is an ability one gains through long hours of practice and meditation."
Lily's eyes narrowed.
"You looked at our souls?"
Ozpin held up his hands placatingly.
"In essence, yes, though it is not nearly as invasive as you may think it is. I do not gain any knowledge of your thoughts or memories, I simply have a vague impression of your personality, can see whether you are magical or not, and can identify what species you are. Faunus souls are the slightest bit different than human souls, and though I have never seen a werewolf soul before, I imagine it would not be a carbon copy of a Faunus soul."
Lily paused then nodded, still unsure but willing to take Ozpin's words at face value.
"Now, if there's anything else? Mister Black? Do you have a question?"
Sirius looked up, frowning. He took a moment to think and then asked "What are you thinking about doing with us. From your own words, wizards are incredibly rare in this...this new land. Are you planning on locking us up, experimenting on us for your own gain or something of the like?"
Ozpin took in the hardened faces of his visitors and shook his head firmly.
"Never. The right to freedom is one of the core values of our society, and has been even before the Great War more than sixty years ago. I simply wish to help, and perhaps convince you to lend your aid in return. Magic is a lost art in Remnant; I am skilled enough, but I am just one man who is more comfortable using his Semblance than his magic."
Lily blinked and half-smiled at the declaration. She could work with that. She tapped her chin and asked "Out of curiousity, what is your Semblance, Headmaster? You already pretty much admitted that the creation of the chairs was magic."
Ozpin smiled genially and said "Forgive an old man his secrets, but I think I'll keep this one as well. After all, I can't give away too much or it ruins the image of mystery I've spent years cultivating."
Sirius snorted and mumbled something under his breath, which Ozpin ignored.
"Regardless...I will have Glynda provide you with a temporary apartment and some basic funds. Just something to help you get on your feet, so to say. You can take up jobs in the city, or if you're interested, you could potentially try to earn your licenses as Huntsman and Huntresses. Ah, forgive me; I should explain that as well."
Sirius shrugged and said "Actually, that one is fairly self explanatory. Huntsman and Huntresses are the ones who fight Grimm, right?"
"Among other duties. Though that is their primary purpose, they also may serve as elite police units, military personnel, or even bounty hunters. After the Great War, it was agreed that the Huntsman and Huntresses would be free to choose their own paths in life without interference from governments or bureaucracy."
The trio nodded.
"Be warned though, the path of a Huntsman is often hard and dangerous. It would require years of training to even qualify for Beacon, followed by four more years here. We do offer separate classes for older students, such as yourselves, who wish to become Huntsman, though such students are fairly rare."
"It almost sounds like you're trying to recruit us."
Ozpin swished his coffee and shrugged.
"Whatever you choose is up to you. It is my professional opinion, though, that the three of you have a great amount of potential. If you wish to become a student at my school, I would gladly accept you. Now, would you kindly be on your way, I have some matters to discuss with Mister Branwen that are for his ears only. Glynda?"
"I'll see to it, Professor."
The trio rose up out of their seats and departed after the blonde, Lily casting a glance back at Ozpin and Qrow before the doors of the elevator closed. All in all, the meeting had gone far better than she'd dared hoped.
Aaaaand done. It is currently midnight. Hope you guys appreciate it.
A few things here. One, yes, I am making Ozpin a wizard in the Harry Potter vein as well as a badass Huntsman. We all knew he was a Wizard though, right? Anyways, this will eventually tie in with the maidens and other parts of RWBY and HP lore, but you'll just have to wait and see.
Two, yes, Toto is a character now, though that is likely the last you will hear of him. Dorothy though...
Tell me what you thought, leave a review or a favorite if you're willing, and I am going to sleep.